Fantasy Basketball 2021: Latest Rankings for Top NBA Players and Sleepers

With the NBA campaign's tipoff set for October 19 and about a week of preseason action left to work with, fantasy basketball is in full effect. If you haven't drafted yet, there's still time to fine-tune your strategy. If you have drafted, roster fat can still be trimmed before action gets underway.

Here we'll look at the rankings in fantasy's upper echelon and dive into two sleepers. All are under the lens of head-to-head categories leagues.

As for what qualifies as a sleeper, the benchmark is around the 10th round for 12-team leagues. And past FantasyPros' consensus 120 ADP (average draft position), there are two clear standouts: the Golden State Warriors' Jordan Poole and Oklahoma City Thunder's Darius Bazley.

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

3. James Harden, Houston Rockets

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

6. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

7. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets

8. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

9. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

10. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

11. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

12. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

13. Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers

14. Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards

15. Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers

16. Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat

17. Nikola Vucevic, Chicago Bulls

18. Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

19. Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors

20. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz

          

Fantasy rankings are inherently muddied this season. Kyrie Irving's playing status is unclear for home games, LeBron James' load management is subject to a shortened offseason and Joel Embiid's point guard remains a mystery.

If Irving misses games, James Harden should jump to No. 2. But Stephen Curry was a dynamo last year and deserves a slight edge for that tour de force (even if Klay Thompson eats into his volume). The other obvious load-bearer is Paul George, who could put up massive numbers while Kawhi Leonard rehabilitates his ACL.

As far as going against consensus ADP, the flag is being planted for Trae Young. At 23, Young is coming off of a season in which he averaged 25.3 points and 9.4 assists. People may feel disheartened by his shooting splits (43.8 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from deep), but a Curry-esque ceiling is within reason and makes him worthy of a top-12 selection.

You should never put too much stock into the preseason or coach speak, but at some point you have to heed the signs. Last season, Poole's points per game jumped to 12.0 thanks to major efficiency bumps. From his rookie to sophomore campaigns, the gunner's field-goal rate went from 33.3 to 43.2 percent, while his three ball went from 27.9 to 35.1 percent.

That improvement was one sign, and this offseason has brought many more. Warriors camp has been all praise for Poole, with head coach Steve Kerr commending his work ethic and calling him one of the team's "best players." And it's shown on the tape and box score too.

In the preseason, JP3's workouts have resulted in a scorer who is visibly stronger than ever—meaning he's harder to get off of his spot and much more balanced when he pulls up. In turn, he's playing with more confidence and control.

Across three preseason games, Poole has 68 points and 14 threes. He should vastly outperform his 140 ADP as a starter until Thompson's return and has the improved tools to remain a valuable sixth man even afterwards.

The Bazley rankings just feel off. An ADP of 190 for a 21-year-old who played 31 minutes per game last year, averaging 13.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 threes? It's hard to know whether the doubts are simply a consequence of his inefficiency or disinterest in the Thunder.

The former is understandable, as the 6'8" forward shot just 39.6 percent from the field, alongside 29.0 percent from three and 70.2 percent from the line. But come on—he had barely hit drinking age and was thrust into a starting role on a tanking team.

Bazley looks the part on the court. He's long, fairly explosive and has flashes of a fluid release and ball-handling panache. Most importantly, the young forward has OKC's faith and, therefore, the capacity for volume. If he improves his field-goal and free-throw rates (for a third straight season), he would be a fantasy goldmine in the later rounds.